Opposites Attract
by ArtsyMusicalSakura
Summary: Yao Wang, a poor Chinese boy living in Yokohama Chinatown, meets wealthy Japanese boy Kiku Honda. Their friendship will lead to many fun adventures and long-hidden secrets that will be revealed. -CURRENTLY ON HIATUS-
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my very first Hetalia fanfiction so it might not be that great for some of you. However, I will accept constructional criticism in order to improve my story and myself as a writer. I hope that most of you will enjoy this story because some of my friends and I came up with great ideas that were running through my mind for a long time. If you have any questions about the story, please include them in your reviews. They will be answered in the next chapter. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this lighthearted story about China and Japan! :)**

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"Japan," a narrator spoke, "an extremely intelligent and middle-aged man who has separated himself from the rest of the world for hundreds of years. His hobbies include growing bonsai trees, painting, and kendo."

"Wow," Yao whispered in amazement. "I've always wanted to meet a Japanese person, aru! Maybe there will be Japanese tourists today! Who knows?"

"Japan is the exact opposite of the loud and proud America," the narrator continued. "Let's take a look at some similarities and differences between these two men, shall we?"

"Yao," his mother called out. "Eat your breakfast now!"

"Why, mom? It's too early!"

"We open our restaurant today, remember?"

"Oh, right! I forgot about that! Can you give me five more minutes? I'm watching something."

His mom barged into his room and pulled his ear.

"Ow, ow, ow! Stop it! I'm gonna miss out on the good stuff, aru!" he whined.

"You can watch it tomorrow! Today, it's all about the restaurant!"

"Aw, man!"

For breakfast, Yao had eaten his favorite: dim sum, a pork dumpling, rice, and green tea.

"Thank you for the meal!" he bowed. "It's time to go to work, aru!"

"Yao, get the sign you made and go outside to hang it up. Be sure to bring a ladder with you."

"Yes!"

"After you do that, sweep the place so it'll look nice and tidy."

"Yes!"

Constant orders have been fulfilled until they were ready to start their business in the afternoon.

"Um, mom," Yao look out the window. "We have a crowd waiting outside, aru!"

"Tell everyone that we'll be ready in a minute or two."

The crowd soon got silent when he opened the door.

"Everyone, we will be having our grand opening in a couple of minutes!"

They let out shouts of joy and excitement.

"Give me some dim sum!"

"I wonder if they brew many kinds of tea."

"They better have mooncakes and other holiday treats!"

Finally, Yao's mom appeared with a pair of scissors in her hand.

"Five, four," the crowd counted down, "three, two, one!"

When they said one, she cut the ribbon in half. Everyone cheered again; this time it was much louder.

"Ten people at a time!" Yao called out. "That way you won't push or shove each other when it's crammed!"

Yao took customer orders while his mom handled the cooking.

"Next!" Yao said.

This customer was probably younger than Yao. He had well-trimmed dark hair, shining eyes, and wore a blue kimono.

"Nihao," he greeted shyly. He took out a slip of paper and began to read what was written on it.

"My Japanese parents will be holding a huge feast in our home this evening. We were wondering if you could prepare the following dishes: Beijing roast duck, Shanghai drunken crab, dim sum, shumai, steamed pork buns, and chicken teriyaki. You can cook more dishes but make sure it's enough to feed twenty people. My parents want to taste Chinese food that is more authentic than what Japanese people cook. My parents say that the best of a certain food come from its home or origin. Please try your best to make my parents happy! I'd appreciate it," he read in Chinese.

Yao was a little surprised at how this Japanese boy was able to speak in Chinese. He just smiled and nodded his head as a reply.

"Xie xie," the boy answered cheerfully and bowed. He exited as soon as possible but before he could open the door, Yao shouted out in Japanese,

"Welcome to Yokohama Chinatown!"

With that said, the Japanese boy smiled at him and left.

"I wonder who he is..." Yao wondered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Finally, chapter two! I think it's as good as the first one. What do you guys think? Be free to give me any ideas and some constructional criticism in your reviews so the story will be more enjoyable! Please also leave questions in your reviews if you have any. Your questions might be ones that other people had thought of. I will be happy to answer them. :D**

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"Kiku, it's time to get changed!" the Japanese boy's mom called.

"Yes, mother. I'm sorry that I got a little dirty from practicing kendo."

"It's okay," she smiled. "Come on, we'll be having our feast soon. You have to look clean and neat for your aunts, uncles, and grandparents."

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"Yao, the food's ready!" his mom announced. "You can deliver it now!"

She made sure that the food was going to be delivered safely by transferring them into large wooden bowls with clear wrap all over them and putting them into two sturdy paper bags. That way, the food wouldn't fall easily and would stay in one piece despite any obstacles on the delivery route.

"Alright, mom! I'm ready to deliver the food!" he appeared wearing a red outfit with oversized sleeves and weaved conical hat. "See you later!"

"Be careful on the road!"

He placed the food in the basket at the back of his bike. The stuffed panda that was already there looked like it was protecting the food. He read the directions at the back of the slip that the Japanese boy had read from.

"So he lives in Yokohama…" he said to himself. "That's good! His home shouldn't be that far, aru!"

He started pedaling while looking over the directions.

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"Ah, it's nice having a little peace and quiet before having a party…" Kiku commented, sinking himself more in his warm bath water. It was a common Japanese tradition for people to cleanse in bathhouses known as sentōs.

"Kiku, it's time to get out! Your relatives are on their way now!" his mom called.

"I guess I'm wrong," he muttered disappointedly.

He got out of his bath and enveloped himself in a fine silky robe.

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"Wow," Yao gasped, "so this is his home? His family's really rich, aru!"

Kiku's home was as wide as a city block and four stories high. It was bordered by a tall dark brown fence that also had a doorway to a grand garden. His home was painted in a dark orange color. Yao transverses the main entrance's stony path and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" a man's voice responded to the sound.

"I'm the delivery boy from Hungry Panda! I came here to give you your food!"

The door quickly opened.

"Thank you so much," he said when he saw the food Yao was carrying. He noticed that he was struggling. "Oh, is that really heavy for you to handle?"

"Yeah," Yao grunted.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," he offered. "Wait a minute, you can speak Japanese fluently even though you're Chinese?"

"Yes, sir. My mom taught me your language at a young age since we live in Japan."

"Did you have a hard time learning it?"

"Not that much. It's easier than my native language, aru."

"I bet that you're a very quick learner," the man grinned. "By the way, what is your name, young man?"

"I'm Wang Yao, sir. You must be that boy's father, right? I'm talking about the one who came to my restaurant earlier, aru."

"Wang… that surname sounds familiar…"

"Really, aru? Where have you heard it?"

"Someone I know from long ago. Anyway, yes, I am Honda Kiku's father."

"Ah, so that's his name, aru! It's very nice! Does it have an actual meaning, aru?"

"Kiku means chrysanthemum, the flower of the Japanese emperor."

"Cool, aru! It was nice meeting you, Mr. Honda! I hope to see you when you're craving Chinese food again, aru!"

He lightly chuckled. "You have a nice day now, Yao!"

"Thank you, aru! You too!" And he started pedaling back to his home on a safe path.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Whew! I finally finished this chapter! There's a poll at the top of my profile page involving this story so please answer it when you can. I think this is when the story gets a little more interesting. Enjoy! :D **

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Kiku panted. "Oh, how much longer until I reach that place?"

He was running to Hungry Panda because Yao left his stuffed panda at his home with the food that he delivered. Finally, after ten minutes of exhaustion, he came across the building having a sign that had hugely written Chinese characters and a well-drawn panda biting on bamboo.

"So his name's Wang Yao, huh? He's as talented as I am when it comes to art," he said to himself, smiling. "Maybe we should have a contest to see who's truly better!"

He opened the door and looked all around the place.

"Hello? Anyone here? I came here to return something."

Two people, Yao and a middle-aged man, popped up from behind the counter and screamed,

"AIYAAA!"

"WAAAHHH!" Kiku jumped from his spot and fell down on his back.

Yao gasped. "I'm so sorry that Shinatty and I scared you, aru!"

"Why did you scare me like that? I thought I was going to get a heart attack! And who's Shinatty?" He had forgiven Yao but he was a little mad.

"We didn't expect you to come here this early," Yao explained.

"We were planning to scare another customer," Shinatty added.

Shinatty was Yao's neighbor who acted both like a father figure and best friend to Yao ever since he was born. He looked like he was in his 50s and soon moving on to his 60s judging from the amount of gray hair that he grew. He had gotten chubby over the years from being a big eater.

"Who were you actually going to scare?"

"Um, one of my first customers, aru," Yao laughed. "He arrived pretty early while he was still sleepy."

"So we thought we should wake him up completely by scaring him if he visited again around the same time!" Shinatty chuckled.

"Oh, I see," Kiku smiled. "Oh, I was going to say that Yao-kun left something at my house."

He held up the stuffed panda.

Yao let out a sigh of relief. "I was looking everywhere for that, aru! Thank you so much, Kiku-chan!"

The cute Japanese boy blushed. "Please don't call me that! I'm not a little kid anymore! And how do you know my name anyway?"

"Because your dad told me, aru. You should be called Kiku-chan because you look younger than I am."

"How old are you, then?"

"I'll be turning thirteen next year so I'm currently twelve, aru. How about you?"

"I'm only… ten…" he answered hesitantly.

"Ha, I knew it! You're pretty short for your age, aru!" Yao giggled.

"Hey, that wasn't nice! Immediately take back what you just said!" Kiku shot back.

"Alright, but on one condition."

"Which is?"

"If you go with me on my delivery."

"Why?"

"You seem like an interesting kid to talk to especially since you're Japanese. I'd really like to learn more about your culture."

"Same here. In return, would you inform me on Chinese culture?"

"Of course, aru."

"How long will it take to reach your destination?"

"Don't worry, it won't be that far, aru. Approximately ten to fifteen minutes."

"That sounds good. You see, my parents will get worried if I don't arrive home when I should."

"I'll try to be as quick but steady as possible, aru. You can count on your onii-chan!"

"Um, we're not brothers, Yao-kun."

"We kind of act like it."

Yao's mom appeared holding a brown paper bag.

"You can deliver now, Yao," she said. Then, she noticed Kiku who was standing next to him.

"I remember you!" she grinned at him. "You're the boy from yesterday! What's your name, sweetheart?"

_Mom never called me that! _Yao thought.

"My name is Honda Kiku, ma'am."

"I've heard of the family name Honda before, but I can't remember why…"

"Come on, Kiku-chan! Let's go on our first delivery adventure together!"

"Hai, Yao-kun!" he said cheerfully. "Also, stop calling me Kiku-chan!"

On their way to a Yokohama building that was holding a business party, Yao started a rather interesting conversation.

"Hey, Kiku. What are your parents like?"

"My parents? Well, um, they're definitely not snobby and vain like typical rich people. They're very friendly and welcome towards everyone they meet. Though, my dad can be pretty strict sometimes. My mom is like that too but more easygoing."

"They're rich, huh? How do they make a lot of money?"

"It started with my parents inheriting their money from their parents. I come from a family of famous artists. People from all over Japan visited my grandparents to buy expensive paintings from them. Now, my parents auction them to other rich people annually."

"Wow, that's amazing, aru! I bet you and your parents must very artistic, right?"

"My parents are good artists, but it's not their main hobby. I'm the one who's really into art."

"Oh, I like art, too! For me, there are days where I don't have enough creativity so my drawings aren't that good and days where my drawings make me feel proud and good of myself."

"Hai, that happens to me sometimes. Also, I'm not sure if I should ask you this question because I think it might make you a little uneasy…"

"Don't be afraid to ask it, aru! I'll be happy to answer it," he reassured the worried Kiki with a gentle smile.

"Well, I got to see your mother since she's the chef, right? I was wondering what your dad does for a living…"

Yao had stopped pedaling. A short moment of silence fell between the two boys.

"I knew I shouldn't have asked you that. What was I thinking?" Kiku said with great regret and guilt in his voice.

"No… it's just that… I never had the chance to see my dad. My mom told me how he died right before I was born. It was obvious from her eyes that she was actually lying about his death, meaning that he's still alive somewhere. When someone lies, it's either they don't look at you straight in the eye or their heart beats much faster than it usually does."

"I'm very sorry to hear that, Yao. I really am."

Yao began to tear up a little but tried to mask his sadness by smiling. "I'll be fine. Shinatty is my dad for now, but I want to look for the actual man who brought me into this world. I can't do this on my own, so I need some help. Kikui, would you be willing enough to search for my dad along with Shinatty?"

Kiku's eyes brightened at this offer. "Yes, Yao-kun! I'll do anything to find your dad! Anything!

"Thank you, Kiku," he cried some more. "I knew I could count on you. Sorry for calling you short, aru."

XxXxX

Kiku had been safely brought home. Before Yao pedaled away, Kiku said,

"Yao-kun, the food from your restaurant was amazing! All of my relatives loved it! Thank you for making them very happy!"

An adventure with a Japanese kid had made his day wonderful.

_I wonder what we'll do next, _he wondered as he laid in his bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: FYI - since this fic takes place several years before WWII, Hawaii is not a US state yet. You'll see why I mentioned Hawaii. Anyways, enjoy! :D**

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"Wake up, Kiku-chan," Mrs. Honda shook him and smiled as she spoke in her usual gentle and amiable tone.

Kiku slowly opened his eyes, yawned, and sat up.

"Good morning, mother," he greeted with another yawn.

"You looked so cute when you were sleeping! It's like you returned to being a baby!"

Kiku's face immediately turned red. "Mom, don't say that! I'm more mature now!"

Mrs. Honda giggled. "Alright, alright. Come on, let's go downstairs. Your father made a delicious breakfast for you."

Mr. Honda had cooked up miso soup, rolled omelet, and salted salmon.

"Wow, my favorite!" Kiku exclaimed. "Thank you for the meal!"

Following the most important meal of the day was getting ready for school. Kiku put on a long-sleeved blue and white sailor outfit accompanied by shorts. Like putting a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae, Mrs. Honda adorned his head with a sailor hat and stepped back a bit to see his overall appearance.

"You look even cuter, sweetie!" she giggled and placed her hands on her cheeks, unable to resist her son's adorableness.

"Mom, I'm a big boy now…"

XxXxX

Before Kiku could step out of the car, his parents kissed him on the cheek, wishing him good luck on his first day of school.

"Have fun, Kiku-chan!" his mom called out.

"Make more friends!" his dad added.

As Kiku walked his way to the main entrance, he could heard an echoing voice calling his name.

"Kiku, I missed you the entire summer!"

It was one of Kiku's long-time friends.

"Kojiro!" he called back. "I missed you, too!"

Kojiro caught up to where Kiku was and enveloped him in a big embrace.

"I feel really warm and comfy…" Kiku commented and hugged him back. "Such a nice feeling to have…"

"Hey, Kiku," Kojiro said. "Do you think we're in the same class again?"

The school bell rang.

"How about we find out now?" Kiku asked with a grin.

XxXxX

They were in the same class and they were able to sit next to each other because of their surnames.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Mr. Hiroki Takahashi and I will be your homeroom teacher! I will be teaching you guys math! I hope all of you enjoyed your summer! Can each of you share anything interesting about your summer vacation? We'll go by family name in alphabetical order!"

The list was pretty long as there were forty kids total in his homeroom.

"Honda, Kiku."

His hand shot up and he stood up from his seat.

"Did you have any interesting experiences during your summer vacation?"

"Yes, I did, Takahashi-sensei. First of all, my parents and I flew to Hawaii, a chain of beautiful islands. There were many Japanese people so we were able to talk them about where certain tourist spots were. Also, since Yokohama has a Chinatown section, I got to interact with a Chinese kid for the very first time."

"Really?" almost all of his classmates exclaimed.

"Wait a minute. You can't understand Chinese," Kojiro pointed out. "How did you two communicate with each other then?"

"He told me that his mother taught him how to speak Japanese."

"Very intriguing, Kiku," Mr. Takahashi grinned. "Please tell us more about this Chinese boy."

"His name is Wang Yao and he and his mom own a restaurant called Hungry Panda."

Some students murmured about what he just said.

"I've heard of that place! It's new, right?"

"Lots of people saying that their Chinese food is really good!"

"I guess you had enough to say, Kiku. Nice to meet you, by the way. Who's next on the list?"

"Same here, Takahashi-sensei."

XxXxX

Mr. Takahashi moved on to important school announcements.

"This year, our class has been chosen to perform for the winter play."

This woke every student up. They all stared directly at Mr. Takahashi and leaned more forward as if they wanted to eavesdrop on a long-hidden secret.

"We will be doing a play on samurais!"

Everyone cheered, showing how much they had an interest in samurais and their history.

"You will randomly choose your role in the play whether it be in acting, scenery and props, or writing the script."

After Kiku picked out a small slip of paper, Kojiro asked curiously,

"What did you get, Kiku?"

"I got…"

XxXxX

Kiku waited outside the school to be picked up. Suddenly, Kiku felt someone from behind hugging him tightly. When the person lifted him up, he shouted,

"LET ME GO OR I'LL CALL THE POLICE!"

The person put him down and started laughing. The voice sounded very familiar to Kiku. Very.

Kiku slowly turned around with a horrified but surprised look. "Yao-kun? What are you doing here?"

"I want to go to the same school as you, aru. Here I am."

Kiku just stood speechless at how much Yao was determined to be with him.

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**In case you didn't know yet, Hiroki Takahashi is actually Japan's seiyuu! Also, Kojiro is just a character that I made up. Bye, see you next chapter! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hi, guys! The lyrics in the beginning might be familiar to some of you. This song inspired me to have Japan performing in a samurai play. Enjoy and please R&R! Thank you! :D **

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"It's finally finished," Kiku sighed.

He gulped down his green tea, ate some mochi, and began to read.

_The faraway dream that is shining madder red_

_is writing down the moments and is shining tonight._

_The full moon and my heart begin to rise gracefully._

_On the vaguely wavering bridge that is ephemeral_

_like bubbles, the pink-colored heat haze snuggles and_

_follows the wind. With my eyes staring fixedly, although_

_it's an endless way, without stopping my walking, I certainly_

_will convey the feeling kept in my heart. The starry sky that_

_is clear and blue is reflected on the waves. The thousands of the_

_scattering sparkles guide me and flick my heart. Just then, glows_

_of fireflies come into my view, and festival music resounds through. _

_Now my lovely home is gradually dyed by them. What strong prayers_

_they are! The branch-dropping cherry blossoms have bloomed steadily._

_Cherishing these enchantingly beautiful flowers in full bloom,_

_I picture my dream journey and look up the heavens._

"Whew, that's a lot. Now I need to come up with a catchy melody."

XxXxX

"Good morning, Yao-kun!" Kiku greeted when he arrived in Hungry Panda.

"Good morning, Kiku-chan!" Yao called out in the kitchen. "Are you going to eat breakfast here, aru?"

"Yes, I am!" he replied and seated himself.

"Good timing! My mom's finished with cooking breakfast, aru!"

"What did she cook?"

"Lots of stuff for the three of us, aru! Let's see, we will eat egg pancakes, fried dumplings, beef noodle soup, pig noses, and even barbecued bats!"

Kiku had the most horrified and disgusted face ever.

"Pig noses and BATS!?" his voice raised and emphasized at the word "bats" much more.

"Yeah... does it disturb you that much?"

"Yes, it does! Do you eat those disgusting things everyday!?"

"HEY! They taste way better than they look, aru! You'll see!"

"Stop arguing, you two!" Yao's mom demanded as she came out of the kitchen with large plates of food. "It's still early in the morning. We don't want to wake up everyone in the neighborhood."

"Sorry..." both of them muttered.

"Then, let's start digging in!" she clapped her hands together after putting the food in front of them.

Yao gobbled his way through the endless amount of food while the refined Japanese kid took a lot of time chewing his food properly. Just like a true gentleman would. The best had been saved for last... Yao waved a bat, smothered in sweet barbecue sauce, on a stick directly in front of Kiku.

"Kiku, you have to try this..." he taunted in a singsong voice.

The traumatized kid shook his head. "No!"

"Come on, it's not that bad..."

"Never!"

"Just one bite please?"

"You can't make me!"

As quick as lightning, Yao tried aiming for his mouth but the bat was caught.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Kiku screeched so loud that Shinatty instantly appeared from next door.

"What in the world?" he said at the doorframe.

Kiku rose from his chair and scurried to the farthest corner of the restaurant. "GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!"

Yao followed suite. "I'll stop chasing you when you finally have your first bite, aru!"

Yao pursued the poor boy all over the small place.

"Ah, kids these days..." Shinatty commented.

"Kiku sweetie, the bats are delicious!" Yao's mom persuaded.

"No, they're not! I'm scared of bats so I hate them!" Kiku shouted.

XxXxX

"Yao-kun, another reason why I came to your place is because I thought of an amazing idea for my school's play! I want your help on it so it can be improved!"

"What's the idea, aru?"

"My class will be performing a play about samurais so everyone randomly picked their role. I got the lead role as the samurai protagonist so I wrote an original song that relates to his ideal future. It's called _Dream Journey_. Would you like to read it?"

"Yes, I will, aru! I'd love to be a big help!"

Yao read it over several times, saying, "This is really good, aru! Was this your first time writing your own song?"

"Yes."

"Great! It certainly does need some tweaking, aru."

"What should I fix?"

"Some of the lyrics should be repeated several times so the song sounds more flowing and smooth, aru."

"You mean a refrain?"

"So that's the word for it, aru! Thanks a lot!"

"Which verse should be the refrain?"

"The one that starts with _The faraway dream..._"

"Good idea! It's fit to be a refrain."

"Alright. Anything else you need help with, aru?"

"The tune of this song. I'm having trouble on how it should go."

There was a brief pause in their conversation.

"Hmmm... I GOT IT, ARU!"

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**It's the perfect song, right? Also, if you want to know, I have these ideas that will become future chapters: Halloween, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Yao's birthday, and more to be announced in the future! See you next chapter! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hi, guys! For those of you who have favorited, followed, or reviewed my story, thank you so much! It means a lot to me. It will encourage me to continue updating! Anyways, enjoy! :D**

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Someone_ knocked on the door. _

"_Hm, I wonder who could that be," China thought._

_When the middle-aged man opened the door, he faced his slightly younger friend Japan who was drenched in the heavily pouring rain._

"_Good evening, China-san," the short man greeted. "It's rather a depressing day, isn't it?"_

"_It sure is, aru. You should dry yourself first. Let me get you a towel."_

_The older man returned with a wide, silky towel and handed it over to Japan._

"_Ah, thank you very much."_

_As he put the towel on his damp hair, he smiled at how fine and smooth the towel felt when it touched his hands._

"_This is obviously high quality silk, China-san. I never thought you had the money to afford something so... exquisite..."_

_Japan finished drying his hair and gave the towel back. _

"_Thank you, Japan! I'm currently brewing a special kind of tea, so please make yourself at home."_

'_What kind of tea is it?" Japan beamed._

"_Oh, I'll tell you when we get to taste it," China smirked._

"Italy and Friends looks sooo much better in color, aru!" Yao exclaimed.

"My parents were lucky enough to buy this television. Color televisions are known to be rare."

Italy and Friends was an educational cartoon that both boys strongly enjoyed watching. The episodes usually ranged from five to ten minutes long. The main protagonist of the series was a man, Giovanni Mancini, representing the country of Italy so he was called Italy by the other characters. The other characters also represented the countries they originated from. All of the episodes taught you about as many foreign cultures as possible in some way, shape, or form.

"_It's almost ready, Japan!" China called out from his kitchen._

"_Hai, I'll be right there!" Japan replied._

_China thoroughly mushed up parts of the plant that was used to make the tea and dumped them into his beautifully hand-painted teapot. Next, he poured hot water from his kettle and mixed the ingredients. After he finished, he eventually poured the tea into two separate cylinder cups._

"_Come take a whiff of the yellow tea, Japan!" he said._

_Japan held up his cup and smelled the tea._

"_It certainly smells amazing, China-san!"_

_He took a small sip and and smiled._

"_Mmm! I could taste a variety of fruits and hints of cocoa and vanilla in just one cup! You must tell me where you found the plant for yellow tea."_

"_Unfortunately, the plant is extremely difficult to find so yellow tea is one of the rarest teas in the world. I had to go to an island very far away from here to get the plant. Sorry about that, aru."_

"_It's fine, but if you do find the plant somewhere closer, could you make this tea for me again? It's one of the best ones I've ever tasted in my entire life!"_

"_I'll try my best, aru! I won't let you down!"_

"I want to make yellow tea now, aru!" Yao said. "I'm sure it would make a bestseller in Hungry Panda because of its rarity!"

"How will you go to the island then?"

"Oh yeah..." Yao hesitated. "I'll ask my mom, aru. I think she would know."

XxXxX

"Can we take a trip to the island, mom? Pretty please?" Yao desperately begged.

"We can't go there, Yao! It's too expensive paying for an airplane ride! You know we're poor!"

"Mom, think about all the money we can earn from selling yellow tea to our customers. Don't you remember telling me why you started this restaurant, aru?"

"I... I set up this beloved place to share my culinary talents with the people of Japan..." she said softly.

"There was something else besides that, aru."

"I have this dream of buying our ideal home which is located in Shanghai, the city I was born in. It's huge, well-kept, and beautiful. You'll have nice views of the entire city and the sea..."

She began to tear up and many strands of her smooth and lengthy brown hair covered her face.

"But I don't know if I can achieve that goal..." her voice broke down. "Especially with the amount of money we have now. I blew most of my budget on just this place. Sometimes I wish that we never opened Hungry Panda..."

"Mom, please don't say that!" Yao cried out and reached out to comfort her. "Everyone says that they love your food and they want to go back here as much as they want! If you do close down, they'll be as disappointed as you are now and they'll head to a Chinese restaurant with lowly food. You'll regret it, aru."

"Sweetheart..."

"You have to learn how to believe in yourself, mom. If you can't build up the ego and trust in yourself, you'll go nowhere, aru."

More tears appeared out of her pretty chocolate eyes and she smiled big at her dear son. "You're right, sweetie. In order for my dreams to come true, hard work comes first!"

"That's the spirit, mom!" Yao grinned.

XxXxX

"REALLY, SHINATTY!?" Yao hollered in his face. "Where do you keep it then? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Sheesh, calm down," Shinatty groaned as he was really tired after coming home from work. "I barely had any sleep, aru."

"Show me where it is, aru! I wanna see!"

Shinatty, feeling weak, roamed to a kitchen cabinet and opened both compartments. He grabbed all of gigantic plastic containers in there and handed some over to Yao.

Yao stared at each of the containers, filled with the yellow tea plants, in shock.

"These look exactly like the one in the Italy and Friends episode! Shinatty, how'd you get them?"

"It's a secret," he smirked as he answered in a melodious voice.

XxXxX

"Thank you very much, aru!" Yao chimed as he received his customer's money. "Enjoy your yellow tea!"

Everyone in Chinatown and Yokohama soon found out about Hungry Panda selling yellow tea. Yao and his mom had to experience their busiest business days ever. The lines were long already as early as five in the morning! Kiku was one of those early birds, arriving in his blue kimono like on the day of Hungry Panda's grand opening. The day that he met Yao.

"Good morning, Yao-kun!" he bowed when he was next in line. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Definitely, aru! What would you like to order, Kiku-chan?"

"A cup of yellow tea, please," Kiku beamed.

"That's all, aru? Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm eating breakfast at my home so I came here to only buy yellow tea. I'm so excited to try it!"

"All right!"

Several seconds later, Yao arrived with it.

"Here you go! Enjoy your tea as long as possible!"

"I will!"

He carefully sipped a small amount as it was hot.

"This is great!" Kiku smiled broadly. "Actually, I changed my mind. Could you get two more for my parents, please?"

"Sure thing!"

By the end of the day, Hungry Panda received a total of 509, 350 yen (about 5,000 USD)!

* * *

**AN: If any of you know the name of the cylinder cup used for teas, please let me know by PM! Thank you and I'll see you next chapter! :D**


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